PODCAST: Producing THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON With Emmy Award Winner David Thies

Joining me this week is David Thies – Emmy award winning producer, prolific television director, local 600 DP and one of the driving forces behind the smash indie hit The Peanut Butter Falcon. The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Zack Gottsagen and Dakota Johnson, and was directed by Mike Schwartz and Tyler Nilson. Throughout our discussion, David walks...

17h

PODCAST: How To Make Your Indie Feature With Slamdance Co-Founder & Filmmaker Dan Mirvish

Joining me this week is none other than Dan Mirvish, co-founder of the iconic Slamdance Film Festival and the director behind indie features like Open House, Between Us (Julia Stiles, Taye Diggs, Melissa George), Bernard and Huey, and 18 1/2. Throughout our discussion we get into the nitty gritty of what it takes to get an indie film made and...

2w

Free Mini-Course: Introduction To Color Grading

Over the past month I’ve been busy recording and editing a brand new free course for filmmakers: Introduction to Color Grading, which just went live! To me, color grading is one of the most essential skills for all micro-budget filmmakers to learn. Like great sound design or visual effects, color has the ability to increase your production...

2w

PODCAST: Breaking Through With A 3 Minute Short Film, Featuring SXSW Filmmaker Chelsea Devantez

Today I am thrilled to be joined by writer/director/actor Chelsea Devantez, whose 3 minute film Basic was programmed this year at SXSW, Santa Barbara International Film Festival and many others. Chelsea is a case-in-point for what’s possible when you embrace your limitations to create meaningful content that can reach a wide audience. Basic may...

3w

PODCAST: Navigating Post-Production, Festivals & Distribution With Hannah Black & Megan Petersen of “Drought”

Last year I had the fortune of interviewing Hannah Black & Megan Petersen all about their feature film Drought for Episode 64 of the podcast. As a refresher, this is the creative duo whose debut feature was crowdfunded on Seed & Spark before landing a $50K investment from the Duplass Bros, the film’s Executive Producers. While our first...

Aug 2020

An Actionable Formula For Plotting Your Next Screenplay

Many filmmakers are hesitant to follow any pre-determined format for their creative work, as they fear it will undermine the creative process.Personally, I think it does the very opposite.Following a blueprint allows your creativity to flourish. Rather than trying to re-invent the wheel of storytelling (which has remained the same since Aristotle’s...

Aug 2020

PODCAST: Getting Your Short Film Programmed At SXSW & Landing Distribution With Rebecca Kahn & Abishek Prasad

My guests this week are co-directors Rebecca Kahn and Abishek Prasad, whose short film Who Among Us was programmed at SXSW 2020 and recently gained distribution through DUST. Over the course of our chat, we cover a lot of ground – talking all about what it takes to get a short programmed at SXSW, tips for financing and producing your next short,...

Aug 2020

The World’s First Professional 65mm Film Grain – Now Available!

I am thrilled to release the world’s first professional grade 65mm film grain! And it’s on sale for the next 48 hours only, along with my brand new 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm film grains too. While there are other film grain options out there, the vast majority of them are created entirely using digital tools. They simply don’t have the look and feel...

Aug 2020

Don’t Chase The Gatekeepers Of The Film Industry, Become One

The article below originally appeared on my micro-budget weekly newsletter. For more content like this, be sure to sign up for the newsletter here. Unfortunately for most filmmakers, the vast majority of their working lives are not spent making films. They exert far more effort attempting to finance their films, land festival screenings,...

Aug 2020

Don’t Chase The Gatekeepers Of The Film Industry… Become One

The article below originally appeared on my micro-budget weekly newsletter. For more content like this, be sure to sign up for the newsletter here. Unfortunately for most filmmakers, the vast majority of their working lives are not spent making films. They exert far more effort attempting to finance their films, land festival screenings,...

Aug 2020